Bikes on the Bricks 2011, Flint Michigan
BotB is a fresh rally in flint that started up 2 or 3 years ago. This year is the first year I'm told that it was stretched into a two day event. Flint is a great place for a rally like this due to the amount of bikers in that town.
When I lived in Flint over a decade ago it held the honor of the highest registered Harley per thousand residents ratio in the world. Even in the tough times the city has gone through it is still a motorcycle hotbed.
I met up with my friend CK at his place just west of town and after a good greasy breakfast at the local coney island we decided to leave the bikes behind and take a couple of his custom bicycles downtown in his van so we can 
cruise the crowd and bar hop easier. this turned out to be a great idea!
The rally is held right downtown on Saginaw st at the Flint River crossing. There is allot of history in this strip from logging to carriage building morphing into the automobile industry. It is now the site of the UofM Flint college campus and as such appears to have been cleaned up compared to the drugs, crime and crack whores the street boasted 
when I lived there.
The old brick pavement, cracked and worn added a flavor to the rally all it's own. There are several bars along the strip that have been there longer than anyone can remember and they were all doing a great business.
Flint laws allows for public drinking at large events like this. Like New Orleans it has to be in a cup or a bag to 
hide the can and you can't get stupid drunk. Churchill's bar was selling 22 ounce buds for $2.50 in a bag and cruising the fest with a beer in hand felt goooood.
The event stretch for blocks and included a wall of death stunt show and the state's only motorcycle cop skills competition. Those guys are amazing, but like anything if you spend 8 or 10 hours a day doing something you will get good.
The police presence was subdued and the party stayed within bounds. The crowd was happy and people could relax and be themselves.
The police escorted ride Saturday started at the shiny new Harley Davidson dealer slash boutique across town in the afternoon. The parade boasted 20 minutes of 
nonstop bikes and snaked around the city for hours. When they rolled into the fest like a wall of thunder it was exciting.
The food and beer in the bars was down right CHEAP. No gouging here. Large $2.50 Killians Red drafts, $6 pitchers and great food. Find the Torch bar in the alley and have a 1/2 lbs torch burger while your there! It was great.
This turned out to be an awesome rally that this year earned it's wings from a small gathering to a major event. It will be a gotta do on my calendar from now on!